2019 National Pro Fastpitch season

The 2019 National Pro Fastpitch season was the 16th season of professional softball under the name National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) for the only professional women's softball league in the United States. From 1997 to 2002, NPF operated under the names Women's Pro Fastpitch (WPF) and Women's Pro Softball League (WPSL). Each year, the playoff teams battle for the Cowles Cup.

2019 NPF Season
League	National Pro Fastpitch
Sport	softball
Duration	May 28, 2019 – August 17, 2019
Number of teams	6
2019 NPF Draft
Top draft pick	Kelly Barnhill P Florida
Picked by	Chicago Bandits
Regular Season
Season champions	Chicago Bandits
Pitcher of the Year	Jolene Henderson USSSA Pride
Player of the Year	Amanda Chidester Chicago Bandits
Rookie of the Year	Abbey Cheek Chicago Bandits
Gold Glove Award	Jessie Warren USSSA Pride
Cowles Cup
Champions	USSSA Pride
Runners-up	Chicago Bandits

Milestones and events

On October 30, 2018, National Pro Fastpitch announced the addition of the expansion team Canadian Wild for the 2019 season, which features members of Canada women's national softball team.^[1]

Teams, cities and stadiums

Team[2]	City	Stadium	Coaches
Aussie Peppers	North Mankato, Minnesota	Caswell Park	Head coach: Laing Harrow Assistants: Melanie Roche, Kerrie Porter
Beijing Eagles	Daytona Beach, Florida	Jackie Robinson Ballpark	Head coach: Hunter Veach Assistants: Kasey Fagan, Cheyenne Coyle, Tang Changdong, Zhang Welhong, Lin Bin, Yang Jie
Canadian Wild	Marion, Illinois	Rent One Park	Head coach: Mark Smith Assistants: Melissa Basilio, Russell Cooper, Dave Paetkau
Chicago Bandits	Rosemont, Illinois	Parkway Bank Sports Complex	Head coach: Lauren Lappin Assistant: Amber Flores, Lance McMahon
Cleveland Comets	Avon, Ohio	Sprenger Stadium	Head coach: TBA Assistants: TBA
USSSA Pride	Viera, Florida	Space Coast Complex	Head coach: Gerry Glasco Assistants: Kelsi Dunne, Stephanie Ceo

Player acquisition

College draft

Main article: 2019 NPF Draft

The 2019 NPF College Draft was the 16th annual collegiate draft held on April 15, 2019, in Nashville, Tennessee. Pitcher Kelly Barnhill of Florida was selected first overall by the Chicago Bandits.^[3]

League standings

Team	GP	W	L	Pct.	GB
Chicago Bandits	45	38	7	.844	—
USSSA Pride	45	32	13	.711	6
Canadian Wild	42	22	20	.524	16
Cleveland Comets	42	20	22	.476	18
Aussie Peppers	43	12	31	.279	26
Beijing Eagles	45	7	38	.156	31

Updated as of the results of all games through August 11, 2019.^[4]

Results table

2019 NPF Records
Team	Peppers	Eagles	Wild	Bandits	Comets	Pride
Aussie Peppers	—	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0
Beijing Eagles	0–0	—	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0
Canadian Wild	0–0	0–0	—	0–0	0–0	0–0
Chicago Bandits	0–0	0–0	0–0	—	0–0	0–0
Cleveland Comets	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	—	0–0
USSSA Pride	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	—

Game log

2019 National Pro Fastpitch Game Log
May/June Date Visitor Home Venue Score Win Loss Save Attendance May 28 Wild (1–0) Eagles (0–1) Jackie Robinson Ballpark Daytona Beach, FL 4–2 Caira (1–0) Lan (0–1) Hovinga (1) 344 May 29 Wild (2–0) Eagles (0–2) Jackie Robinson Ballpark Daytona Beach, FL 6–2 Hovinga (1–0) Xinxing (0–1) — 72 May 30 Wild (3–0) Eagles (0–3) Jackie Robinson Ballpark Daytona Beach, FL 7–6 Friesen (1–0) Wanbing (0–1) — May 30 Wild (4–0) Eagles (0–4) Jackie Robinson Ballpark Daytona Beach, FL 1–0 Caira (2–0) Fan (0–1) Rackel (1) May 31 Wild (5–0) Eagles (0–5) Jackie Robinson Ballpark Daytona Beach, FL 3–1 Hovinga (2–0) Lan (0–2) Groenewegen (1) 242 June 1 Eagles (0–6) Wild (6–0) Jackie Robinson Ballpark Daytona Beach, FL 2–4 Groenewegen (1–0) Fan (0–2) — June 6 Bandits (1–0) Comets (0–1) Parkway Bank Sports Complex Rosemont, IL 2–0 O'Toole (1–0) Tarango (0–1) Carda (1) 275 June 6 Pride (0–1) Wild (7–0) Rent One Park Marion, IL 0–6 June 7 Pride (0–2) Wild (8–0) Rent One Park Marion, IL 4–5 June 7 Bandits (2–0) Comets (0–2) Parkway Bank Sports Complex Rosemont, IL 8–0 June 8 Pride (1–2) Wild (8–1) Rent One Park Marion, IL 6–2 June 8 Bandits (3–0) Comets (0–3) Parkway Bank Sports Complex Rosemont, IL 9–8 June 9 Bandits (4–0) Comets (0–4) Parkway Bank Sports Complex Rosemont, IL 6–1 June 9 Pride (1–3) Wild (9–1) Rent One Park Marion, IL 2–5 June 9 Bandits (5–0) Comets (0–5) Parkway Bank Sports Complex Rosemont, IL 10–3 June 9 Eagles (1–6) Peppers (0–1) Caswell Park North Mankato, MN 3–2 June 10 Pride (2–3) Wild (9–2) Rent One Park Marion, IL 3–1 June 10 Eagles (1–7) Peppers (1–1) Caswell Park North Mankato, MN 2–3 June 11 Eagles Peppers Caswell Park North Mankato, MN Postponed (inclement weather) (Rescheduled as doubleheader on June 12) June 12 Eagles (1–8) Peppers (2–1) Caswell Park North Mankato, MN 0–3 June 12 Eagles (1–9) Peppers (3–1) Caswell Park North Mankato, MN 1–5 June 12 Wild (10–2) Comets (0–6) Sprenger Stadium Avan, OH 4–1 June 13 Pride (3–3) Bandits (5–1) Parkway Bank Sports Complex Rosemont, IL 8–0 June 13 Pride (4–3) Bandits (5–2) Parkway Bank Sports Complex Rosemont, IL 6–1 June 13 Wild (11–2) Comets (0–7) Sprenger Stadium Avan, OH 1–0 June 14 Eagles (1–10) Wild (12–2) Sprenger Stadium Avan, OH 0–4 June 14 Wild (12–3) Comets (1–7) Sprenger Stadium Avan, OH 2–4 June 15 Eagles Wild Sprenger Stadium Avan, OH Postponed June 15 Eagles Wild Sprenger Stadium Avan, OH Postponed June 16 Eagles (1–11) Comets (2–7) Sprenger Stadium Avan, OH 2–8 June 16 Wild (13–3) Comets (2–8) Sprenger Stadium Avan, OH 2–1 June 18 Comets (3–8) Peppers (3–2) Space Coast Complex Viera, FL 2–1 June 18 Peppers (3–3) Pride (5–3) Space Coast Complex Viera, FL 0–2 June 20 Comets (3–9) Eagles (2–11) Jackie Robinson Ballpark Daytona Beach, FL 0–1 June 20 Peppers (3–4) Pride (6–3) Space Coast Complex Viera, FL 1–9 June 20 Bandits (6–2) Wild (13–4) Rent One Park Marion, IL 8–0 June 20 Comets (4–9) Eagles (2–12) Jackie Robinson Ballpark Daytona Beach, FL 5–0 June 20 Peppers (3–5) Pride (7–3) Space Coast Complex Viera, FL 1–8 June 20 Bandits (6–3) Wild (14–4) Rent One Park Marion, IL 2–8 June 21 Comets (5–9) Eagles (2–13) Jackie Robinson Ballpark Daytona Beach, FL 6–0 June 21 Peppers (3–6) Pride (8–3) Space Coast Complex Viera, FL 0–8 June 22 Comets (6–9) Eagles (2–14) Jackie Robinson Ballpark Daytona Beach, FL 1–0 June 22 Bandits (7–3) Wild (14–5) Rent One Park Marion, IL 8–4 June 22 Peppers (3–7) Pride (9–3) Space Coast Complex Viera, FL 0–3 June 22 Bandits (8–3) Wild (14–6) Rent One Park Marion, IL 5–4 June 24 Peppers (3–8) Eagles (3–14) Jackie Robinson Ballpark Daytona Beach, FL 0–6 June 24 Eagles (4–14) Peppers (3–9) Jackie Robinson Ballpark Daytona Beach, FL 12–0 June 24 Comets (6–10) Pride (10–3) Space Coast Complex Viera, FL 3–4 June 25 Peppers (3–9) Eagles (4–14) Jackie Robinson Ballpark Daytona Beach, FL 2–3 June 25 Comets (6–11) Pride (11–3) Space Coast Complex Viera, FL 1–4 June 26 Peppers (4–9) Eagles (4–15) Jackie Robinson Ballpark Daytona Beach, FL 5–2 June 26 Peppers (4–10) Eagles (5–15) Jackie Robinson Ballpark Daytona Beach, FL 1–4 June 26 Comets (6–12) Pride (12–3) Space Coast Complex Viera, FL 2–3 June 27 Peppers (4–11) Eagles (6–15) Jackie Robinson Ballpark Daytona Beach, FL 2–6 June 27 Comets (6–13) Pride (13–3) Space Coast Complex Viera, FL 2–4 June 28 Wild (14–6) Bandits (9–3) Parkway Bank Sports Complex Rosemont, IL 1–3 June 29 Comets (7–13) Peppers (4–12) Caswell Park North Mankato, MN 3–2 June 29 Wild (14–7) Bandits (10–3) Parkway Bank Sports Complex Rosemont, IL 1–3 June 30 Comets (8–13) Peppers (4–13) Caswell Park North Mankato, MN 5–3 June 30 Comets (9–13) Peppers (4–14) Caswell Park North Mankato, MN 4–1 June 30 Wild (14–8) Bandits (11–3) Parkway Bank Sports Complex Rosemont, IL 6–7
July Date Visitor Home Venue Score Win Loss Save Attendance July 1 Wild (14–8) Bandits (12–3) Parkway Bank Sports Complex Rosemont, IL 3–4 July 1 Wild (14–9) Bandits (13–3) Parkway Bank Sports Complex Rosemont, IL 2–3 July 1 Eagles (6–16) Pride (14–3) Space Coast Complex Viera, FL 0–4 July 2 Eagles (6–17) Pride (15–3) Space Coast Complex Viera, FL 0–10 July 3 Wild (14–10) Peppers (5–14) Caswell Park North Mankato, MN 5–6 July 3 Comets (9–14) Bandits (14–3) Parkway Bank Sports Complex Rosemont, IL 1–8 July 3 Eagles (6–18) Pride (16–3) Space Coast Complex Viera, FL 0–13 July 4 Wild (15–10) Peppers (5–15) Caswell Park North Mankato, MN 5–2 July 4 Comets (9–15) Bandits (15–3) Parkway Bank Sports Complex Rosemont, IL 0–4 July 4 Eagles (6–19) Pride (17–3) Space Coast Complex Viera, FL 0–4 July 5 Wild Peppers Caswell Park North Mankato, MN Postponed July 5 Comets (9–16) Bandits (16–3) Parkway Bank Sports Complex Rosemont, IL 1–5 July 6 Wild (16–10) Peppers (5–16) Caswell Park North Mankato, MN 3–1 July 6 Wild (17–10) Peppers (5–17) Caswell Park North Mankato, MN 4–1 July 6 Comets (9–17) Bandits (17–3) Parkway Bank Sports Complex Rosemont, IL 1–3 July 6 Comets (9–18) Bandits (18–3) Parkway Bank Sports Complex Rosemont, IL 2–3 July 8 Bandits (19–3) Peppers (5–18) Caswell Park North Mankato, MN 6–0 July 9 Bandits (19–4) Peppers (6–18) Caswell Park North Mankato, MN 1–5 July 9 Pride (17–4) Comets (10–16) Sprenger Stadium Avan, OH 1–3 July 10 Bandits (19–5) Peppers (7–18) Caswell Park North Mankato, MN 3–5 July 10 Bandits (20–5) Peppers (7–19) Caswell Park North Mankato, MN 17–0 July 10 Pride (18–4) Comets (10–17) Sprenger Stadium Avan, OH 5–1 July 11 Bandits Peppers Caswell Park North Mankato, MN July 11 Pride Comets Sprenger Stadium Avan, OH July 12 Pride Comets Sprenger Stadium Avan, OH July 13 Peppers Comets Sprenger Stadium Avan, OH July 14 Peppers Comets Sprenger Stadium Avan, OH July 15 Peppers Comets Firestone Stadium Akron, OH July 15 Peppers Comets Firestone Stadium Akron, OH July 15 Bandits Pride T-Bones Stadium Kansas City, KS July 16 Peppers Comets Firestone Stadium Akron, OH July 16 Bandits Pride T-Bones Stadium Kansas City, KS July 18 Peppers Bandits Parkway Bank Sports Complex Rosemont, IL July 18 Wild Pride Space Coast Complex Viera, FL July 19 Eagles Comets Firestone Stadium Akron, OH July 19 Peppers Bandits Parkway Bank Sports Complex Rosemont, IL July 19 Wild Pride Space Coast Complex Viera, FL July 20 Eagles Comets Firestone Stadium Akron, OH July 20 Eagles Comets Firestone Stadium Akron, OH July 20 Peppers Bandits Parkway Bank Sports Complex Rosemont, IL July 20 Wild Pride Space Coast Complex Viera, FL July 20 Wild Pride Space Coast Complex Viera, FL July 21 Eagles Comets Firestone Stadium Akron, OH July 21 Wild Pride Space Coast Complex Viera, FL July 23 Peppers Wild Rent One Park Marion, IL July 23 Eagles Pride Space Coast Complex Viera, FL July 24 Pride Eagles Jackie Robinson Ballpark Daytona Beach, FL July 24 Peppers Wild Rent One Park Marion, IL July 24 Peppers Wild Rent One Park Marion, IL July 25 Peppers Wild Rent One Park Marion, IL July 25 Eagles Pride Space Coast Complex Viera, FL July 26 Bandits Eagles Jackie Robinson Ballpark Daytona Beach, FL July 26 Pride Eagles Jackie Robinson Ballpark Daytona Beach, FL July 27 Bandits Eagles Halpatiokee Regional Park Stuart, FL July 27 Comets Wild Charlotte-West Stadium Carbondale, IL July 28 Bandits Eagles Halpatiokee Regional Park Stuart, FL July 28 Comets Wild Rent One Park Marion, IL July 28 Comets Wild Rent One Park Marion, IL July 29 Bandits Eagles Jackie Robinson Ballpark Daytona Beach, FL July 29 Comets Wild Rent One Park Marion, IL July 30 Bandits Eagles Jackie Robinson Ballpark Daytona Beach, FL July 30 Pride Eagles Jackie Robinson Ballpark Daytona Beach, FL July 30 Pride Eagles Jackie Robinson Ballpark Daytona Beach, FL July 31 Pride Eagles Jackie Robinson Ballpark Daytona Beach, FL
August Date Visitor Home Venue Score Win Loss Save Attendance August 1 Bandits Pride Space Coast Complex Viera, FL August 2 Bandits Pride Space Coast Complex Viera, FL August 3 Bandits Pride Space Coast Complex Viera, FL August 5 Pride Peppers Caswell Park North Mankato, MN August 5 Eagles Bandits Parkway Bank Sports Complex Rosemont, IL August 6 Pride Peppers Caswell Park North Mankato, MN August 6 Pride Peppers Caswell Park North Mankato, MN August 6 Eagles Bandits Parkway Bank Sports Complex Rosemont, IL August 6 Eagles Bandits Parkway Bank Sports Complex Rosemont, IL August 7 Pride Peppers Caswell Park North Mankato, MN August 7 Eagles Bandits Parkway Bank Sports Complex Rosemont, IL August 10 Pride Bandits Parkway Bank Sports Complex Rosemont, IL August 11 Pride Bandits Parkway Bank Sports Complex Rosemont, IL
NPF Championship Date Visitor Home Venue Score Win Loss Save Attendance Series August 15 Pride Bandits Parkway Bank Sports Complex Rosemont, IL 3–0 1–0 August 16 Bandits Pride Parkway Bank Sports Complex Rosemont, IL 4–5 2–0 August 17 Pride Bandits Parkway Bank Sports Complex Rosemont, IL 8–2 3–0
Winning team   Postponement Reference:[5]

Players of the Week

Week		Player of the Week		Pitcher of the Week		Rookie of the Week		Ref.
Player	Team	Player	Team	Player	Team
1	May 27–June 2	Victoria Hayward	Canadian Wild	Jenna Caira	Canadian Wild	Morgan Rackel	Canadian Wild	[6]
2	June 3–June 9	Kristyn Sandberg	Chicago Bandits	Danielle O'Toole	Chicago Bandits	Holly Speers	Canadian Wild	[7]
3	June 10–June 16	Jennifer Gilbert	Canadian Wild	Jenna Caira	Canadian Wild	Amanda Lorenz	USSSA Pride	[8]
4	June 17–June 23	Bianka Bell	USSSA Pride	Sierra Hyland	Cleveland Comets	Abbey Cheek	Chicago Bandits	[9]
5	June 24–June 30	Chelsea Goodacre	USSSA Pride	Angel Bunner	Beijing Eagles	Abbey Cheek	Chicago Bandits	[10]
6	July 1–July 7	Jennifer Gilbert	Canadian Wild	Jolene Henderson	USSSA Pride	Holly Speers	Canadian Wild	[11]
7	July 8–July 14	Amanda Chidester	Chicago Bandits	Kaia Parnaby	Aussie Peppers	Abbey Cheek	Chicago Bandits	[12]
8	July 15–July 21	Victoria Vidales	Cleveland Comets	Rachele Fico	Chicago Bandits	Lilli Piper	Cleveland Comets	[13]
9	July 22–July 28	Sydney Romero	USSSA Pride	Jolene Henderson	USSSA Pride	Jenna Caira	Canadian Wild	[14]
10	July 29–August 4	Amanda Chidester	Chicago Bandits	Rachele Fico	Chicago Bandits	Abbey Cheek	Chicago Bandits	[15]
11	August 4–August 11	Abbey Cheek	Chicago Bandits	Kaia Parnaby	Aussie Peppers	Sydney Romero	USSSA Pride	[16]

NPF Championship

	NPF Semifinals					NPF Championship
	1
	4
	2
	3

2019 NPF Semifinals
Game	Date	Score	Winning Pitcher	Save	Losing Pitcher	Player of the Game	Series

2019 NPF Semifinals
Game	Date	Score	Winning Pitcher	Save	Losing Pitcher	Player of the Game	Series

2019 NPF Championship Series
Game	Date	Score	Winning Pitcher	Save	Losing Pitcher	Player of the Game	Series

Championship Game

Team	Top Batter	Stats.
USSSA Pride	Shay Knighten	2-3 3RBIs 2B
Chicago Bandits	Abbey Cheek	3-4 RBI HR

Team	Pitcher	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
USSSA Pride	Taran Alvelo	1.1	4	2	2	0	1
USSSA Pride	Jolene Henderson (W)	2.0	5	0	0	0	1
USSSA Pride	Jailyn Ford (SV)	3.0	2	0	0	0	5
Chicago Bandits	Rachele Fico (L)	0.2	3	3	3	0	0
Chicago Bandits	Aleshia Ocasio	1.2	2	1	1	0	1
Chicago Bandits	Danielle O'Toole	1.2	2	1	1	1	1
Chicago Bandits	Ally Carda	2.1	4	3	3	0	3
Chicago Bandits	Haylie Wagner	0.2	0	0	0	0	2

2019 NPF Championship Series MVP
Player	Club	Stats.
Jailyn Ford	USSSA Pride	1-0 15Ks 0.00 ERA 2SVs 0.50 WHIP (3Hs+BB/8.0 IP)[17]

Annual awards

Award[18]	Player	Team
Player of the Year	Amanda Chidester	Chicago Bandits
Pitcher of the Year	Jolene Henderson	USSSA Pride
Gold Glove Presented by Rawlings	Jessie Warren	USSSA Pride
Offensive Player of the Year	Amanda Chidester	Chicago Bandits
Rookie of the Year	Abbey Cheek	Chicago Bandits
Legacy Award	Kelly Kretschman	USSSA Pride
Stolen Bases Award	Sammy Marshall	Cleveland Comets
Home Run Award	Amanda Chidester	Chicago Bandits
Jennie Finch Award	Victoria Hayward	Canadian Wild
Coaching Staff of the Year	Lauren Lappin Amber Flores Lance McMahon	Chicago Bandits
Umpire of the Year	Scott Mair

All-NPF Team

2019 All-NPF Team
Position	Name	Team
Catcher	Chelsea Goodacre	USSSA Pride
First base	Amanda Chidester	Chicago Bandits
Second base	Abby Ramirez	Chicago Bandits
Third base	Jessie Warren	USSSA Pride
Shortstop	Hannah Flippen	Chicago Bandits
Outfield	Allexis Bennett	USSSA Pride
Outfield	Victoria Hayward	Canadian Wild
Outfield	Brenna Moss	Chicago Bandits
Designated player	Kelly Kretschman	USSSA Pride
At Large	Sydney Romero	USSSA Pride
At Large	Rachele Fico	Chicago Bandits
At Large	Jennifer Gilbert	Canadian Wild
At Large	Abbey Cheek	Chicago Bandits
At Large	Gwen Svekis	Chicago Bandits
Pitcher	Jolene Henderson	USSSA Pride
Pitcher	Sara Groenewegen	Canadian Wild
Pitcher	Aleshia Ocasio	Chicago Bandits
Pitcher	Taran Alvelo	USSSA Pride